Hanky Panky (2023 film)

Hanky Panky is a 2023 American comedy horror film written by Nick Roth and directed by Roth and Lindsey Haun, featuring an ensemble cast including Jacob DeMonte-Finn, Ashley Holliday, Christina Laskay, Anthony Rutowicz, Clare Grant, Azure Parsons, Toby Bryan, Seth Green, and Roth and Haun themselves. In the film, a crude talking handkerchief vies with an evil killer top hat for the fate of the universe.

Hanky Panky
Hanky Panky the Movie
Film poster
Directed byLindsey Haun and Nick Roth
Written byNick Roth
StarringJacob DeMonte-Finn
Ashley Holliday
Christina Laskay
Anthony Rutowicz
Clare Grant
Azure Parsons
Toby Bryan
Lindsey Haun
Nick Roth
Seth Green
CinematographyChris Wedding
Morgan Demeter
Kevin Schlanser
Edited byNick Roth
Lindsey Haun
Music byJimmy Haun
Distributed byDeskPop Entertainment
Release date
  • December 9, 2023 (2023-12-09) (premiere)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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The sweet and quirky ayahuasca marriage counselor Diane mistakenly invites the wrong "Sam" to a retreat which she is co-hosting with friends and family at an isolated snowy mountain cabin. Instead of her best friend's sister Samantha showing up, she gets Sam, a socially anxious oddball. Sam is accompanied by his best friend, Woody, a foul-mouthed talking handkerchief which Sam believes only he can hear. Woody is reportedly sexually aroused by cleaning up messes. Diane is Sam's opposite, but it's love at first sight. The only thing that stands between them is that right away everyone in the cabin starts being mysteriously murdered, and the whole vacation quickly descends into a zany pandemonium of cults, psychedelics, aliens, and, as Woody himself puts it, delicious chaos.[1]

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced without a budget, with the small cast and crew splitting costs and living together in the cabin in northern Utah in which the film was almost entirely shot.[2] It was shot on the Digital_Bolex D16 camera. [3]

Principal photography began and was completed in January 2016. Post-production on the film was completed in 2023. [4]

Release

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The film premiered at the Los Angeles Comedy Film Festival on December 9, 2023,[5] and was released streaming worldwide on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Fandango at Home by DeskPop Entertainment on April 19, 2024.[6]

Reception

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The film received generally positive reviews from critics: on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 89% rating, based on 18 reviews.[7]

Kristy Puchko of Mashable praised the film as a "gleefully absurd avalanche of silliness... the comedy equivalent of a Jackson Pollock,"[8] and Film Ireland called it "a genre-bending rollercoaster that seamlessly blends elements of comedy and horror, all while descending to a new level of insanity... A surreal success in ambitious independent filmmaking."[2]

The film has also received 49 awards from film festivals.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "'Hanky Panky' Review: Seth Green Voices an Evil Hat in Absurd New Comedy". 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Review: Hanky Panky – Film Ireland Magazine". 8 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Director Nick Roth discuss' new movie 'Hanky Panky'". 21 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Wacky Horror Comedy 'Hanky Panky' Trailer Featuring an Evil Top-Hat | FirstShowing.net". 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ "LA Film Festivals". LA Film Festivals.
  6. ^ "Hanky Panky".
  7. ^ "Hanky Panky | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  8. ^ "This stoner comedy is a perfect pick for 420". Mashable. 19 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Hanky Panky (2023) - Awards - IMDb". IMDb.
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